Miriam Margolyes opened up about the health problems she lives with and issued a warning to others on how one of them could be prevented
Miriam Margolyes opened up about her health issue (Image: YOUTUBE/THEROMESHRANGANATHANSHOW)
Miriam Margolyes has shared an update on a health problem she has lived with for more than 40 years. The 84-year-old revealed she suffers from a long-term shoulder injury that means she is unable to put on a bra by herself.
Reflecting on being filmed in her bra for her latest documentary Miriam Margolyes Made Me Me, she said on The Romesh Ranganathan Show: “I did have that new bra on and it did me the world of good.
I need several people to put it on for me and I’m on my own at the moment.
“The problem is, I’ve got a bad shoulder, I’ve had it for a long time actually because I didn’t know how to fall and I had to fall in a play for six months about 40 years and the rotator cuff doesn’t quite cuff or rotate, whatever it should do.
“So, I can’t put my hands behind my back. I can manage with an apron because it’s lower down, but with a bra it’s a little bit [more difficult] and you have to sort of arrange your t**s into it.
“And I need help basically, so my lodgers do bra duty, but I haven’t got them with me today so I had to do it myself,” the actress shared.
In the same podcast, the Harry Potter star opened up about what she considers the “worst bit” of being in her eighties.
Asked for advice by Romesh’s mother, she said: “The worst bit about being 80 is my weak pelvic floor. I p**s myself all the time and everywhere I go I always take spare knickers because you never know.
“And that’s honestly the truth and I don’t like it and I don’t say it to be funny, I say it because it’s true and it’s a bl***y nuisance,” Miriam added.
“But if I done pelvic floor exercises maybe I wouldn’t be so p***y. So do your pelvic floor exercises,” she warned.
On a more positive note, the actress said the “best thing” about turning 80 is the confidence she now feels when meeting new people.
“The best thing about being 80 and I’m going to be 85 [soon], is not being afraid to meet people, not being afraid to go into a room and just be.
“Sometimes, that’s because people know who I am and they’re sort of starstruck because they think I’m a star, but it gives me confidence.
“I feel more empowered to be and go into a room and talk to people,” she added.
Miriam has faced a number of other health challenges over the years, including undergoing an aortic valve replacement in 2023. She also lives with Spinal stenosis, which has affected her mobility.
She previously told Closer Magazine: “I can’t walk very well, and I’m registered disabled. I use all kinds of assistance. I’ve got two sticks and a walker and they’re such a bore, but I’ve just got a mobility scooter, which is a lot of fun.”